She turned her head aside. “No thank you.”
“I thought you said you were hungry? Damn well yelled it, too.”
“I am, but only savages eat snake.”
“You see a restaurant nearby? Out here, we eat what’s available, and while snake meat is tough, it has very little flavor.”
“It’s certainly not considered fit for human consumption in England.”
“Do you see England nearby?”
Was he making a joke? She remembered an exhibit at a London museum about people in some distant land who ate snake meat. Sophie had whispered that the male savages ate it to increase their virility. This man certainly didn’t need help in that regard—he was virile enough as he was!
She ignored her growling stomach and repeated, “No thank you.”
She squeezed her eyes shut so she wouldn’t see him eating. But a while later he tapped her shoulder again, and she turned to see him offering her a piece of bread.
She took it before saying, “So the snake was just to prove what a savage you are?”
“So savage I tried to feed you something that would hold you till the next meal? You need meat.”
Not that kind of meat, she didn’t, but it was pointless to argue with him. She gazed at the lake as she chewed the dry bread. The less she had to look at the man and his strapping body, the better. His very size still frightened her. He was bearish in appearance and manner. He was rough, uncouth, lacking in refinement, lacking in charm, everything she would find objectionable in a man.
And then her eyes flared wide when she saw a very large bear, a bloody real one, lumbering toward the water on the other side of the lake. Horrified, ignoring her screaming muscles, she jumped up and hurried to hide behind Morgan. Why wasn’t he getting his rifle?! She peered around his shoulder and saw the bear stand up to sniff the air before it dropped to all four feet again to drink from the lake. Fascinated, she couldn’t take her eyes off it.
“It’s not coming over here,” Morgan said.
“But if it does?”
“Then I’ll be taking home bear meat.”
“So you’re a hunter, too?”
“Every man’s a hunter when it’s necessary, but I don’t pass up free food, though I admit I’m not partial to bear unless it’s only been eating nuts and berries.”
Bear meat, snake meat. Did people in this uncivilized land really eat anything that became available? God, they probably did. As he’d pointed out, the nearest restaurant she knew of was half a day’s ride away.
Ignoring the bear, Morgan moved to another one of his baskets. When he turned, she was amazed to see him offering her a puffy pastry coated in sugar. She was so pleased that she said thank you this time before she sat down by the water again to enjoy the pastry, glad to see the bear wandering off in the opposite direction. A few minutes later, feeling replete, she wished she could lie down and nap for the remainder of the time they would be there, but was afraid she wouldn’t get back up if she did.
She peered up at the cloudless sky. “Does it ever rain in this territory? Or does the rain dry up in this heat and disappear before it can reach the ground?”
He laughed. “I’ve never thought of that possibility, though I wouldn’t be surprised if it happens. But sure, it rains, just not that often. Snows a lot come winter, though.”
She didn’t care because, thankfully, she wouldn’t be here then. She was already dreading having to get back on her feet, much less on the mule. “How much farther to the mines?” she asked.
“Depends.” She assumed it depended on whether the animals walked or trotted. But then he added, “But it won’t be today.”
She was aghast. Was he serious? And if they wouldn’t reach his mining camp by nightfall... “But where will we sleep?”
“On the ground, of course.”
She was utterly appalled by the notion. “I’ve never slept anywhere but on a bed. I simply won’t be able to sleep.”
She thought she heard a chuckle. “You will.”
She probably would, but she had to point out, “It would be most improper for me to sleep near you.”
“Well, if you don’t want me nearby to protect you, I can sleep somewhere else.”
